Bleach: Love and Bonds Make Me Stronger!

Gazing at the blade caught between Makoto's fingertips, Tokinada lay sprawled on the ground, his entire expression frozen in place, pupils constricted to pinpoints.

He forgot the pain of his wounds.

It wasn't just him. Every student who witnessed the scene, noble or Rukongai commoner, instinctively held their breath.

Even Sasakibe couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

That's Makoto for you.

After a few breaths of silence, the crowd seemed to regain their voices, erupting into a chaotic buzz.

"Hey! Did you… did you see that?!"

"He caught it with his fingers!"

"That was a real blade, right? That's contraband!"

"Idiot, he's from the Tsunayashiro family, of course it's real!"

All the students stared wide-eyed at Makoto on the platform.

Even the most gifted among them, Shunsui and Ukitake, couldn't hide their astonishment.

A man's reputation casts a long shadow.

Though Makoto's name was notorious across the Soul Society, it was largely tied to tales of his alleged misdeeds, truth and rumor indistinguishable.

His actual strength had only been the subject of speculation.

But in this moment, that strength was displayed in the most visceral way possible.

"The Tsunayashiro guy's at least Tier-6, right?"

Shunsui lowered his voice, whispering to Ukitake beside him, "Some kind of special Kidō?"

Ukitake shook his head, also keeping his voice low, "I didn't sense any Reishi fluctuations."

Shunsui fell silent.

While he excelled in Zanjutsu, Ukitake's talent in Kidō surpassed his own, with finer control and sensitivity to Reishi.

If even Ukitake detected no Reishi movement, then this was simply raw, overwhelming power.

For a moment, Shunsui's gaze on Makoto grew complex.

This guy's terrifying.

Only then did Konji Takasugi, still on the platform, snap out of his daze, hurriedly bowing to Makoto, "Thank you, Vice-Captain Makoto!"

Thud.

Makoto, still holding the blade, rapped Takasugi's head with the hilt, producing a dull sound. His tone was sharp with disapproval, "Fool!"

"I told you to go easy, not to let your guard down."

"When you're facing a Gillian, are you going to turn your back after one swing?"

Takasugi's forehead beaded with sweat as he stammered, "Y-yes, sir! I'll remember this lesson!"

"Back to your place."

"Yes, sir."

This brief display of strength, coupled with his commanding presence, finally dispelled the awkward atmosphere from his entrance, lending him a touch of the dignity befitting a "teacher" and "superior."

Makoto inwardly sighed in relief.

Nice sneak attack, Tokinada!

With that thought, he turned to Tokinada's direction, his voice cold, "You. Back to your place."

"Huh?!"

Tokinada looked up, stunned.

Many noble students, well-versed in the laws, also stared at Makoto in disbelief.

Shunsui's eyes widened in surprise.

Not for any other reason, but because "sneak attacks" and "unauthorized use of real blades" were both taboo under the old Seireitei noble laws.

Sneak attacks aside, the prohibition on real blades served two purposes, first, to prevent anyone from secretly studying or crafting Zanpakuto, which could disrupt the Soul Society's order; second, because Zanpakuto were unique. Using inferior weapons for Shikai could lead to unpredictable consequences when performing Shikai with an Asauchi.

This was a serious offense!

Makoto, of course, knew these rules.

Yet he remained on the combat platform, turning to address the entire crowd, his voice calm, "Some of you may know me, but most probably don't."

"Let me introduce myself."

"My name is Makoto Fujimiya, currently serving as Vice-Captain of the Eleventh Division, specializing in Zanjutsu and Shunpo."

"For the foreseeable future, I'll also be acting as an instructor for some classes of the Shin'ō Academy's first cohort, teaching you the skills and rules necessary to become Shinigami."

Makoto's voice was steady, almost devoid of inflection, yet it carried clearly to every student's ears.

Ukitake, sensing the pinpoint control of Reishi in his delivery, felt a quiet shock.

The noisy crowd below fell silent.

Makoto's gaze swept over everyone. Seeing no questions, he continued, "Now, I'll announce the first rule."

"Shin'ō Academy Code - Rule #1."

"On this combat platform, once both parties agree to the terms of a challenge, everything follows those terms."

"In a fight to the death, there are no rules."

"Poison, deception, sneak attacks… anything goes!"

"A Shinigami's battle with a Hollow is brutal."

"But you are, after all, comrades who will fight side by side in the near future. So, once one side surrenders, faints, or any decisive outcome is reached, no further killing blows are permitted."

Makoto's gaze, sharp as a blade, swept over the crowd, finally landing on Tokinada, making him instinctively shrink back.

"Don't make me look down on you."

As his words settled, the crowd fell into a hushed silence.

Everyone stared at him.

The Rukongai commoners, many of whom had heard of the Genji School's reputation and joined after learning of their victory over the Seireitei nobles, looked at him in a daze.

They hadn't expected the Gotei 13 to place such importance on people like them.

A vice-captain… that's one of the top twenty-six strongest in the entire Gotei 13, isn't it?

As for the noble students, this rule sparked an uneasy premonition.

This rule practically forced them into no-holds-barred combat!

"But beyond that." Makoto added, "My expectations are actually quite lenient."

He looked at them, his stern face slowly breaking into a smile, "After all, I'm not some demon."

"…"

Gulp.

At his refined, almost gentle smile, everyone instinctively swallowed hard.

Yeah, right!!

---

Evening, Kuchiki Manor.

After a long day, Kuchiki Ginrei returned home.

He stepped through the gate, his gait steady, every movement and posture adhering to decorum.

Young in years, his conduct was already rigid to the point of being almost old-fashioned.

But in truth, he had little choice.

Who, at just over two hundred years old, could face such upheaval, family decline, the death of parents and branch family retainers at the hands of enemies, and still endure the pain, face reality, and bow to those same enemies without undergoing profound change?

Father, Shihoin-sama, Tsunayashiro-sama…

Kuchiki Ginrei now had no one left to rely on.

Or rather, those he might have hoped to lean on were all struggling to protect themselves, leaving him to cling to the last shred of dignity afforded by the name of the five great noble families.

Still…

Kuchiki Ginrei gazed at the mix of familiar and unfamiliar faces now filling his family's manor.

Figures, some stern, some dignified, young and old, moved through what was once a serene, spacious courtyard. Some bickered loudly, others sat playing games of strategy, while a few leaned against pillars, drowning their sorrows in sake. Occasionally, wails of unrestrained grief echoed from the back garden, cursing that bastard with venom.

"Sigh…"

Kuchiki Ginrei let out a long, weary breath.

As a representative of the "nobles." He couldn't remain entirely indifferent to those stripped of their titles and family names by the Genji School.

What's more, in the eyes of many, the Kuchiki family's noble status had been preserved only at the cost of sacrificing countless lesser and mid-tier noble houses. Naturally, this bred unspoken resentment.

To make matters worse, many of these disenfranchised lesser nobles scoffed at the modest homes "allocated" by the Gotei 13. Some, too proud to work, went days without food, collapsing from hunger while still muttering nonsense about bloodlines and million-year legacies.

Others, shamelessly, came begging at the doors of the five great noble families.

Over time, the Kuchiki ancestral manor had unwittingly become a haven for freeloaders.

At first, Ginrei hadn't the heart to turn them away, but their numbers only grew.

Not only did they eat and drink without end, some even complained the food wasn't good enough.

When he learned that the Shihoin and Tsunayashiro families had either barred their gates or raised barriers, and the Shiba family had simply moved into the division barracks, neatly dodging these "former nobles." Ginrei's regret was palpable.

Exhausted from a day's work, only to come home to these pests…

Why did I bother keeping up appearances?!

Just as he thought this, a loud boom erupted from the back garden.

Frowning, Ginrei turned. "Miki-san, what's that noise?"

At his voice, a lanky old man stepped slowly from the crowd, his tone gentle, "Kuchiki-sama, it's likely the second young master of the Kyōraku family using the Kidō training grounds."

"Kidō training?"

Ginrei paused, then, as if recalling something, asked, "The Shin'ō Academy started classes today, didn't it?"

"How's Shunsui doing?"

Miki Gesshō hesitated slightly. "Kyōraku-sama seems… troubled."

"But I haven't heard the specifics."

"I see. Thank you."

Ginrei thanked him politely before heading toward the back garden.

With the manor damaged in the Seireitei war and most of his household staff dismissed, he was fortunate that Miki, the former steward of the Miki family, was willing to work for his keep, unlike the others who mooched without contributing.

Truly a lifesaver.

Striding into the back garden and turning toward the Kidō grounds, he spotted Shunsui sprawled on the ground in a starfish pose, his face smudged with soot.

The training area was half-destroyed, though the fixed Kidō array was slowly repairing it, the ground rippling like a muddy pool.

Seeing Shunsui's disheveled state, Ginrei approached, surprised. "Shunsui? What are you doing?"

"Kuchiki-sama, I'm…" Shunsui's soot-covered face broke into a grin, revealing white teeth as he struggled to speak. "Doing… homework."

"Huh?"

Ginrei looked at him, bewildered.

Shunsui sat up with effort, exhaling heavily. "That guy Makoto..."

"He's a demon!"

"Kuchiki-sama!"

Ginrei's eyes widened instinctively. "Makoto-sama? He's teaching you?"

"Yeah."

Shunsui's face was a mask of despair. "First day of classes, that jerk had all the students tested for Reishi control, then split us into some arbitrary tiers."

"Tier one has to master Hadō #1."

"It ramps up from there."

"For someone like me, Tier 4, it's Hadō #31."

Ginrei blinked, stunned. "You're learning Kidō before anything else?"

Shunsui shook his head, correcting him. "Not exactly. It's supposedly to test our Kidō aptitude or something… but they're testing for Zanjutsu, Hakuda, and Hohō aptitudes too."

"You can test for that?" Ginrei had never heard of such a thing.

Shunsui gave a wry smile, wiping the soot from his face to reveal dark circles under his eyes. "I don't know if you can."

"But he beat the tar out of all of us."

"Zanjutsu? Get whacked with a wooden sword. Hakuda? Get pummeled barehanded. Hohō? Get chased and thrashed while running…"

Ginrei listened, his expression growing subtle. "Just the noble students?"

"Nope."

Shunsui's voice carried a hint of lingering fear as he continued. "The seated officers training at the academy got it worse."

"One guy, Kuruyashiki Ryoma or something, nearly got beaten to death."

"Damn it!"

Shunsui slammed his fist against the wall, his panda-like face crumpling. "That guy's a total sadist, isn't he?!"

Ginrei's gaze on Shunsui softened with pity, though inwardly he felt a twinge of relief.

Good thing I didn't sign up for any of that training.

I'd have died of embarrassment.

Shunsui, naturally laid-back, was chafing under such strict discipline. If not for his family's expectations, he'd have skipped class already.

"Thankfully, his class is only once a week."

"Otherwise, I wouldn't survive."

At this, Ginrei seemed to recall something and cautioned, "Shunsui, you'd better get used to it."

"From what I hear, the Shin'ō Academy will soon switch to a closed-campus system."

Shunsui froze.

Before he could ask more, Miki's voice called from outside, "Kuchiki-sama!"

"Tsunayashiro-sama and Shihoin-sama have arrived at the gate."

"Coming."

Ginrei responded, then clapped Shunsui's shoulder firmly. "You gotta step up, Shunsui."

Shunsui's eyes widened in dismay.

"What?!"

***

Bonus Chapter:

100 Power Stones = 1 BC

300 Power Stones = 2 BC

500 Power Stones = 3 BC

700 Power Stones = 4 BC

1000 Power Stones = 5 BC

***

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